There’s a beautiful symmetry to Keith Urban’s sold out gig at Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall on a September night in Brisbane. Thirty odd years ago, Keith made a living playing covers in venues not too far from here. He played pubs like The Normanby, clubs like the Underground and hundreds of shows on guitar with Rusty and the Ayers Rockettes. They’ve all led him here to a full house on a Thursday night.
New album
This small show, alongside others at the Sydney Oxford Arts Factory and the Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre, is happening because Keith is promoting a new album, High, out later this month.
When Urban returns to Australia in August 2025 he’ll be playing multiple nights in arenas that hold up to fifteen thousand people. Tonight, the faithful include Keith Urban fan club members, competition winners, a few industry folk and those lucky enough to buy a ticket.
Urban hits the stage alone with an acoustic guitar right on 8pm. Before too long he’s joined by Terence F. Clark on drums and Jerry Flowers on bass. As the set rolls on, Maggie Baugh joins the group to sing backing vocals and play a variety of instruments.
Excelling on guitar
Watching the initial trio, with Urban excelling on the guitar, I’m thinking ‘This is the best three piece I’ve seen since the Police’.
Tonight’s set is a mix of hits, fan favourites, new material and covers. Highlights included the opener ‘Long Hot Summer’, followed by a slew of hits: ‘Somebody Like You’, ‘Blue Ain’t Your Colour,’ ‘Kiss A Girl’, ‘Wasted Time’, a stripped down ‘But By The Grace of God’ and ‘Days Go By’.
Urban was in fine voice throughout. The set ran for almost two and half hours and the singer’s pipes sounded just as fresh by the end as they did when the show started. As a guitar slinger, Urban is par excellence. A melodic player, he’s never afraid to shred when required.
PHOTO: Brennon Williamson
The first time this reviewer saw Urban play wasn’t geographically too far from here. It was at the launch of his self-titled debut in 1991 at Mary Street. Again, it was a small room and Urban was on fire. The difference is that album barely scraped into the ARIA Top 100 and now Keith’s one of the biggest country/rock artists on the planet.
Playing a smattering of new tunes, standouts from the forthcoming album High included ‘Go Home WU’, ‘Messed Up As Me’, ‘Heart Like a Home Town’ and ‘Straight Line’
Apart from the physical proximity to the artist that a small venue like Lefty’s offers fans, there was the added bonus of Urban taking audience requests and playing covers.
Lit up the room
Early on, the room lit up as Urban led the band through Steve Miller’s ‘The Joker’, complete with audience participation. There was Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, the genius call of including an acoustic version of David Dundas’ ‘Jean’s On’, later followed by an audience request for ‘ANGELS!!!’
PHOTO: Brennon Williamson
What else could Urban do? After briefing the band, he began a ballad lite version of ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’. When it came to the refrain, the audience metaphorically lifted the roof.
Somewhere in the mix was Cold Chisel’s ‘Flame Trees’. Tonight it was as if Urban was singing it by way of John Mellencamp. And that’s said with the highest praise. It’s a beautiful moment where the kid who starts out playing covers conquers America and returns home to play a song that’s part of our collective rock n’ roll DNA.
Magic
As the Broncos lost to the Storm a few metres down the road, the footpath outside Lefty’s was full of League fans trying to get in. Keith kept playing as the music drifted out into Caxton Street.
He delivered an absolute blinder of a show that may go down in folklore as a rare and magic night.
Keith Urban’s new album High is out on September 20 (EMI). His Australian August 2025 Tour Dates can be found here https://keithurban.com/pages/tour
PHOTO: Brennon Williamson
PHOTO at top of story: Brennon Williamson
